Featured Research

from universities, journals, and other organizations

Information technologies foster freedom or reinforce repression

Date:

September 22, 2011

Source:

Penn State

Summary:

The media may portray text messaging and social networks as powerful new weapons for freedom fighters, but these new communication tools may not be as uniformly beneficial or as robust as suggested, according to researchers.

Share This

The media may portray text messaging and social networks as powerful new weapons for freedom fighters, but these new communication tools may not be as uniformly beneficial or as robust as suggested, according to Penn State researchers.

Related Articles

People have used new information communication technologies, such as Twitter, Facebook and text messaging, both as tools for freedom and to repress in recent civil strife in Egypt and Kenya, said Brandie Martin, graduate student in mass communications.

"The key word is 'tool,' " said Martin. "The depiction that these revolutions are caused by the technology is an over-generalization."

When anti-government protests exploded in Egypt on Jan. 25, 2011, citizens began to use blogs, text messaging and social networks to spread information critical of the current government. About 56,000 Egyptians became members of a Facebook page about the movement and approximately 15,000 citizens used Twitter accounts to find and spread information about the protests.

However, the government, led by then President Hosni Mubarak, quickly cracked down on bloggers and took over Internet and text messaging services, said Martin, who worked with Anthony Olorunnisola, associate professor of communications.

The researchers, who presented their paper on September 21 at the New ICTs + New Media = New Democracy workshop in Washington, D.C., organized by Penn State's Institute for Information Policy and New America Foundation's Open Technology Initiative, said that third-party telecommunication companies responded differently to the Egyptian government's request to take over. Key mobile network operators, such as Vodafone, Mobinil and Etisalat, honored the government request and suspended service.

Pro-government forces continued to send text and Internet messages for their cause.

"President Mubarak used the services to send out pro-Mubarak messages," Martin said. "The messages alerted supporters about the location of pro-Mubarak rallies and called for unity in his name."

However, other telecommunication companies helped the protesters circumvent the ban. Internet service providers outside Egypt, for example, helped Egyptians use the Speak 2 Tweet function, an application created by Google, Twitter and SayNow that turns voice calls into Twitter updates.

Martin said the cause of and reaction to the turmoil in Kenya in 2008 contrasts with the Egyptian response in several ways. Unrest in Kenya was divided along ethnic and tribal lines. Text messaging was used not necessarily to rally unity, but to broadcast "hate speech" messages, inciting violence against members of opposing tribes. Nearly 1,500 Kenyans died in the violence, according to Martin.

One example of a hate speech text message that was sent by members of the Kikuyu tribe urged people to compile lists of members of the Luos and Kalus tribes and identify where their children go to school.

"We say no more innocent Kikuyu blood will be shed," the message read. "We will slaughter them right here in the capital city."

When Kenyan authorities moved to stop the messages, telecommunications companies refused to comply with the government order.

"There are real questions now as to what the role of telecommunication companies should be," said Martin. "When should the government go in and block communication when they are used for hate speech?"

Martin analyzed content on major news distribution sites, including the BBC, Washington Post, NPR and Time, as well as regional media sources such as Al Jazeera and Ahram Online. She also reviewed Twitter updates, Facebook posts and text messages sent during the conflicts.

Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by Penn State. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

More From ScienceDaily

More Computers & Math News

Featured Research

Mar. 3, 2015 — By examining the forces that the segments of mosquito legs generate against a water surface, researchers have unraveled the mechanical logic that allows the mosquitoes to walk on water, which may ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Major cities in the UK are falling behind their international counterparts in terms of their use of smart technologies, according to a new study. The research has found that smart cities in the UK, ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — To simulate chimp behavior, scientists created a computer model based on equations normally used to describe the movement of atoms and molecules in a confined space. An interdisciplinary research ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Magnetic vortex structures, so-called skyrmions, could in future store and process information very efficiently. They could also be the basis for high-frequency components. For the first time, a team ... full story

Mar. 2, 2015 — The odds of picking a perfect bracket for the NCAA men's basketball March Madness championship tournament are a staggering less than one in 9.2 quintillion (that's 9,223,372,036,854,775,808), ... full story

Mar. 2, 2015 — Scientists report that they could observe experimentally the current flow along channels at the crystal surfaces of topological insulators. The channels are less than one nanometer wide and extend ... full story

Mar. 2, 2015 — Organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), which are made from carbon-containing materials, have the potential to revolutionize future display technologies, making low-power displays so thin they'll wrap ... full story

Mar. 2, 2015 — What if one day, your computer, TV or smart phone could process data with light waves instead of an electrical current, making those devices faster, cheaper and more sustainable through less heat and ... full story

Mar. 2, 2015 — 3-D printing could become a powerful tool in customizing interventional radiology treatments to individual patient needs, with clinicians having the ability to construct devices to a specific size ... full story

Featured Videos

Forensic Holodeck Creates 3D Crime Scenes

Reuters - Innovations Video Online (Mar. 3, 2015) — A holodeck is no longer the preserve of TV sci-fi classic Star Trek, thanks to researchers from the Institute of Forensic Medicine Zurich, who have created what they say is the first system in the world to visualise the 3D data of forensic scans. Jim Drury saw it in operation.
Video provided by Reuters

Related Stories

Oct. 24, 2014 — Adult children's relationship satisfaction with their parents is modestly influenced by the number of communication tools, such as cell phones, email, social networking sites, they use to ... full story

Sep. 9, 2013 — Study of more than 76,000 text messages shows that texting about delinquent topics predicts youths' involvement in antisocial behavior. Should parents and teachers worry that teenagers' ... full story

July 2, 2012 — Is social media censorship a means to quell a modern uprising? Some politicians and law enforcers during the political turbulence of 2011 thought so but recent research suggests that uncensored ... full story

ScienceDaily features breaking news and videos about the latest discoveries in health, technology, the environment, and more -- from major news services and leading universities, scientific journals, and research organizations.